Sharp Turbo Twin Famicom

I recently acquired a Sharp Turbo Twin Famicom, thus rounding out my collection of ALL the 8-bit Nintendo consoles (not including variants, I still haven’t gone crazy enough to gte a square-buttoned Famicom). If you are new to the 8-bit Nintendo import scene, those consoles are the regular old white and red Famicom with the Famicom Disk System attached, the AV Famicom, the Sharp Twin Famicom (I have the red one), and the Sharp Turbo Twin Famicom.

So just what is the difference between the Sharp Twin and the Sharp Turbo Twin? Not much when all is said and done. Certainly n0t enough of a difference to own both unless you are a hardcore Famicom nerd (*raises hand*).

The Turbo Twin has all the features of the original Twin, including the expansion ports and AV connectivity. The inner guts are exactly the same, save for the inclusion of a wire that connects to the LED on the power switch. The LED light on the power button is a welcomed feature, mainly because the difference between the power button being depressed and not is so subtle that my original Twin had been left on for hours at a time without me even realizing it.

Of course, the main difference is the inclusion of turbo switches for the A and B buttons on the controller itself. Interestingly, the Turbo Twin is the only licensed Nintendo console to include Turbo buttons on it’s bundled (in this case hardwired) controllers.

Another vast improvement over both the original Famicom and the Twin Famicom is the controller cord length. The Turbo Twin’s controllers are easily twice the length of the other two models, making playing the system far more comfortable.

The controllers themselves, other than the turbo switches, are identical to the Twin’s button placement, size, and side cord placement.

The top case of the console has a slightly different cosmetic design, ditching the curved smooth bevel in favor of a more conventional look.

All in all the Sharp Turbo Twin Famicom makes enough improvements over the original’s design to warrant a recommendation over it’s turbo-free sibling. A word of warning, however; the Turbo Twin is far more desired which can make the model fetch a significantly higher price on the auction sites.

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3 thoughts on “Sharp Turbo Twin Famicom”

So, here’s the deal: I’ve been wanting to get into this stuff for YEARS. I mainly just want the O.G. Famicom and Disk System, but there’s one thing stopping me: what games should I get!? I mean, I’m not gonna’ shell out for one of these just to get Japanese versions of games that were released in the U.S.

What’s some good retro import stuff that would warrant the purchase of one of these?

You won’t be disappointed with any of these games. When you buy a Disk System, make sure the belt has been replaced because it is a PAIN to do it, especially the first time. Personally I would spend the extra money and get an AV Famicom and a Disk System, or just get a Twin Famicom because getting the RF signal from the original Fami to work on non-Japanese TVs can be a trial and sometimes it doesn’t work at all. Hope that helps!

[…] Just a few short months after the Disk System was released in Japan, Sharp Corporation, under license from Nintendo, released a 2-in-1 version of both the Famicom and the Disk System called the Sharp Twin Famicom. Sharp released the Twin in several different styles, including a model with built-in Turbo controllers. […]

Video Games are Rad is a blog mostly about old video games. It has been written by Nathan White since 2007. Come, marvel in this expression of eternal love for RPGs, the Famicom, and pixelated wonderment- or not. Whatever.